Most irrigated state in the nation
Welcome to Nebraska, part of the core of America’s heartland, a food supplier to the world, and one of the strongest farming states in the nation. At about 210 by 430 miles across, Nebraska boasts an immense amount of incredibly rich, fertile land. Let’s take a look at three of the highlights that make Nebraska an amazing place to live, work, and own property. We’ll look at the areas of crop production, beef production, and entrepreneurship.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of the role that agriculture plays in Nebraska. Perhaps most notably, Nebraska has the most irrigated acres of any state in the nation, thanks to large underground aquifers beneath the state. With 8,588,389 acres of irrigated land (as of the most recent USDA agricultural survey in 2017), Nebraska is even ahead of California, which has 7,833,593 irrigated acres. For the farmer who wants the stability and predictability that irrigation brings, it’s hard to find a better option than Nebraska. However, even dryland acres in Nebraska produce relatively high yields, thanks to fertile soils, optimally timed rainfall, and abundant flat ground that makes farming more efficient. Crop sales in Nebraska in 2017 amounted to an incredible $9.2 billion.
In addition to producing excellent crops, Nebraska is also a major beef producing state, with more than three cattle for every person in the state. In 2017, sales of 7,508,695 cattle and calves totaled $10.7 billion (1), outranking crops as a contributor to Nebraska GDP. Nebraska also ranks top in the nation for beef and beef product exports (2).
The hardworking, resilient spirit of farming and ranching also extends to entrepreneurship in Nebraska. Nebraska as a whole has a more highly educated population than other states in the US. The state has a favorable entrepreneurial climate for high-growth businesses, thanks to the 2011 Nebraska Business Innovation Act (LB 387). This act created programs to assist Nebraska entrepreneurs and innovators who aimed to create high-growth businesses, create products, and hire employees (3). Nebraska has also traditionally experienced a lower level of unemployment and less extreme fluctuations in unemployment than the rest of the United States (4).
Thinking of relocating to Nebraska farm or ranch land? Keep watching for upcoming articles, where we will take a deeper dive into everything related to buying rural real estate in Nebraska. In the meantime, please check out the Nebraska listings on the American Land Broker website.
Featuring
MARV VAN HOUTEN
